Paul Gerard Barrett

Paedophile acts earn 9 years’ jail

A former Christian Brother and sex education teacher was sentenced to nine years’ jail yesterday for molesting six teenagers, but his victims say they have had to endure a life of pain and suffering.

Teacher Paul Gerard Barrett led a double life.

During school hours he had been a charming and highly respected vice-deputy principal at St John Bosco College in Engadine, but in reality he had been a paedophile, a man who lusted after adolescent boys, luring them with alcohol, cigarettes and pornography.

One of his victims, Max (not his real name), spoke to the Mercury yesterday about the years of torment he had suffered since being sexually assaulted by 66-year-old Barrett.

“It has absolutely ruined my life and my family’s life,” he said after the sentence was handed down in Wollongong District Court yesterday.

“My mum and dad blame themselves. They thought they were giving me a good education by sending me to a Catholic school. Well I got a real good education – in abuse.”

Max had been 13 when he was first enticed by Barrett to perform sexual acts. The lure had been a female teacher.

“She was on the beach topless and I rubbed cream on her and then later we had sex, but only after they had plied me with alcohol,” he said.

The female teacher denies the allegations and has never been charged.

But yesterday Judge Joseph Phelan said Barrett had used the woman to seduce his young prey.

He would also tell his victims that male sexual relief was all right if heterosexual relief was not available.

A psychologist’s report showed that Barrett’s “narcissism was so fixated that what he believed was good for him, was good for them”.

Through the court he apologised to his victims and said he had pleaded guilty because he did not want them to undergo any further hurt by having to give evidence at a trial.

He pleaded guilty to 29 charges of sexual assault on boys aged between 13 and 17. The court also took into consideration 61 similar counts. They occurred over an eight-year period at either his then Cronulla home, or during school excursions or retreats.

Another victim told yesterday why he had not complained about the abuse.

“At the end of the day who was going to believe me? It was my word against his,” he said.

Barrett was sentenced to a minimum term of six years. He will be eligible for parole in 2008.

“A life sentence would have been better … I’ve copped a life of agony from it all and so has my family. It’s been humiliating and degrading,” Max said.

Teacher was `sexually repressed’

By JENNY DENNIS – Illawarra Mercury – 24/08/2002 – Page 17

Eighteen years spent as a Christian Brother had left a former Engadine school teacher with a psycho-sexual age of six, a Wollongong court has heard.

Paul Gerard Barrett, the deputy principal at St John Bosco College in Engadine from 1978 to 1996, appeared before Wollongong District Court yesterday for sentencing.

The 66-year-old from Farrell Rd, Bulli, had pleaded guilty to 29 charges of sexual assault. Yesterday he requested the court take a further 61 similar charges into account in the sentencing.

Ray Willis, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, told the court Barrett was a paedophile.

Some of his victims had been as young as 13 at the time of the offences, he said.

Barrett’s claims that he had never approached any of the boys sexually, that it was they who approached him, were “simply untrue”, the court heard.

“It’s totally at odds with the victims’ accounts,” Mr Willis said.

Barrett had used his position of power and influence over the boys, enticing them with alcohol, cigarettes and pornography. His actions had amounted to a significant breach of trust.

“This is not the activity of an innocent,” the prosecutor said. “This is a pattern of deliberate and planned exploitation. One where the offender has tremendous authority over these boys.”

At the time he had been committing the offences, he’d been having counselling from a Catholic priest, the court heard.

As a result, the prosecution had real concerns about him re-offending.

Five of the six victims – all male – had been students at St John Bosco, when the assaults occurred between 1981 and 1989. The sixth had been the son of a woman Barrett knew.

Barrett’s defence counsel, Nick Canosa, told the court the environment his client lived in from 1955 to 1973 – as a member of the Christian Brothers’ order – was one in which sexual desires had been suppressed.

A psychologist who examined Barrett had reported his psycho-sexual development to be that of a six-year-old.

“The environment in the order provided no opportunity for normal sexual growth,” Mr Canosa said.

Barrett had left the order in 1954 and had since got a science and an art degree and qualifications in counselling.

Judge Joe Phelan adjourned the sentencing to Thursday.

Teacher preyed on male students

By MICHELE TYDD – Illawarra Mercury – 27/06/2002 – Page 7

A retired vice-principal who sexually assaulted five male students – some more than 100 times – has been committed for sentence.

Paul Gerard Barrett, 66, of Farrell Rd, Bulli, preyed on students at St John Bosco College at Engadine where he worked between 1978 and 1996.

Barrett in Wollongong Local Court yesterday pleaded guilty to 29 counts of indecent assault on teenage boys between 1981 and 1989.

The offences also involved a teenage friend of Barrett’s.

Another 61 charges will be taken into account at the sentencing on August 23 in Wollongong District Court.

The sexual assaults took place at the school, various locations on school excursions and retreats and at Barrett’s former home in Cronulla.

On one occasion at Barrett’s home he told a 13-year-old victim he was “beautiful” and that “you do owe me, you know”.

On another occasion he took a Year 10 student home to help him with a school presentation and sexually propositioned him.

The court heard Barrett sometimes took teenagers away on holidays and on occasions would photograph male and female students having sex.

On June 14 last year police executed a search warrant on Barrett’s house and seized a number of videos and photographs depicting the victims – some naked.

The court heard Barrett returned to the school after his retirement in 1996 to perform part-time library duties but resigned after his arrest.

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Paul Wayne Barrett Perth Aust, Wanted In Nsw On A Dozen Child Sex Assault, Physical Abuse On Minors. His Son John Paul Barrett Has Also Been Found 2 Abuse Minors. Margaret Barrett Is Pauls Mum, Nan Of John. Last Known Address Is Langford, Perth, W. A. Therese Barrett Former Wife Of Paul And Mum 2 John!!!